Out and about
Correction to the last post: in Germany they say 'football' but they spell it fussball. I can't figure it out either.
I've been going out a lot in the last few days, trying to acclimate myself and find the lay of the land. Something that is taking a good deal of adjustment is that bars here close at 3am. I need to pace myself better, that means, and I wish I knew that the first night here. That night, the one without heat, was doubly miserable because I was bitchslapped by jet lag. I toughed it through the day, got back to the apartment, started freezing, and eventually fell asleep at about 9pm. I woke up at 1am and couldn't fall back asleep, because 1am here is like 7am at home and I am usually getting up around then. This led to an agonizing 5-6 hours of lying under the piled on covers and trying to will myself asleep. I couldn't get out of bed, because it was too cold, and I couldn't really read, because that would require light and letting cold air under the covers. After a few hours I fired up the ipod, which helped, but I don't really have enough sleepytime music for hours of trying to lull myself to sleep. The end result of this was something like dying in a dream in Inception. Hours of no stimulation will drive me pretty much off the deep end. If I knew then what I know now, I would have just thrown on some clothes and drunk my way to sleep in a nice warm bar until 3am. Ah well.
Went out to a co-worker's birthday on friday, which was at a club called the Red Cat. Not really my kind of place as it was latin night, (One day I want to go to a latin night and have it be a bunch of people conjugating verbs) but the club did have an interesting feature where you didn't pay at the bar. Instead, you get a cardboard card at the entrance and when you order the bartender marks off your drinks on the card. At the end, when you leave, you turn in your card and cash out. You aren't allowed to leave without paying off your card, and the bouncers are fearsome. It was a pretty good time but after a while I couldn't take the music and left. I think I might have given everyone the Irish Goodbye though, which was not intended.
As I walked out I passed a club blasting Little Richard. Damn! I should have been in there the whole time!
Another thing that is taking some adjustment is that you can drink anywhere here. You can walk around with a naked beer and no one cares. You can even drink on the subway, though you are technically not supposed to. I had an inaugural subway beer on friday and it was very liberating. Speaking of the subway, the system for which in even a city like Koln puts anything in America to shame, (seriously, I think Koln probably has the subway coverage of NYC but serving only a bit more than a million people.) is run on the honor system. You are supposed to buy a ticket and if a ticket inspector comes on the train and audits you, you pay 40 Euro as a penalty. I've been riding the train raw dog, mostly because the machines confuse me, and I haven't been caught yet.
Went out again last night, on my own recognizance, to see what I could find. I had spent the whole day walking around the old city and exploring and I figured I should see what the nightlife is doing. I googled 'koln rock club' (another interesting Europe fact: they have rock dance clubs here. They really should bring that to America as though I don't dance, I do like listening to blaringly loud music that I enjoy in a social setting while other people dance. In the states the best you might hope for is a top 40 club, which is utter crap, but here they have clubs where they will blast punk and garage songs all night and everyone loves it.) and found a few interesting prospects. Set out on the train, found the place with only a little trouble, and then proceeded to bar hop for a couple of hours, drinking a vast number of kolches and having a decent time. Next weekend I think I'm spoken for, but it's good to know that such places exist.
Another odd thing: I just had my birthday but it seems that everyone thinks that I'm younger than I am. Is it because I don't smoke and haven't let myself go? Is it because I dress like a Williamsburg trustfunder? I can't figure it out.
I've been going out a lot in the last few days, trying to acclimate myself and find the lay of the land. Something that is taking a good deal of adjustment is that bars here close at 3am. I need to pace myself better, that means, and I wish I knew that the first night here. That night, the one without heat, was doubly miserable because I was bitchslapped by jet lag. I toughed it through the day, got back to the apartment, started freezing, and eventually fell asleep at about 9pm. I woke up at 1am and couldn't fall back asleep, because 1am here is like 7am at home and I am usually getting up around then. This led to an agonizing 5-6 hours of lying under the piled on covers and trying to will myself asleep. I couldn't get out of bed, because it was too cold, and I couldn't really read, because that would require light and letting cold air under the covers. After a few hours I fired up the ipod, which helped, but I don't really have enough sleepytime music for hours of trying to lull myself to sleep. The end result of this was something like dying in a dream in Inception. Hours of no stimulation will drive me pretty much off the deep end. If I knew then what I know now, I would have just thrown on some clothes and drunk my way to sleep in a nice warm bar until 3am. Ah well.
Went out to a co-worker's birthday on friday, which was at a club called the Red Cat. Not really my kind of place as it was latin night, (One day I want to go to a latin night and have it be a bunch of people conjugating verbs) but the club did have an interesting feature where you didn't pay at the bar. Instead, you get a cardboard card at the entrance and when you order the bartender marks off your drinks on the card. At the end, when you leave, you turn in your card and cash out. You aren't allowed to leave without paying off your card, and the bouncers are fearsome. It was a pretty good time but after a while I couldn't take the music and left. I think I might have given everyone the Irish Goodbye though, which was not intended.
As I walked out I passed a club blasting Little Richard. Damn! I should have been in there the whole time!
Another thing that is taking some adjustment is that you can drink anywhere here. You can walk around with a naked beer and no one cares. You can even drink on the subway, though you are technically not supposed to. I had an inaugural subway beer on friday and it was very liberating. Speaking of the subway, the system for which in even a city like Koln puts anything in America to shame, (seriously, I think Koln probably has the subway coverage of NYC but serving only a bit more than a million people.) is run on the honor system. You are supposed to buy a ticket and if a ticket inspector comes on the train and audits you, you pay 40 Euro as a penalty. I've been riding the train raw dog, mostly because the machines confuse me, and I haven't been caught yet.
Went out again last night, on my own recognizance, to see what I could find. I had spent the whole day walking around the old city and exploring and I figured I should see what the nightlife is doing. I googled 'koln rock club' (another interesting Europe fact: they have rock dance clubs here. They really should bring that to America as though I don't dance, I do like listening to blaringly loud music that I enjoy in a social setting while other people dance. In the states the best you might hope for is a top 40 club, which is utter crap, but here they have clubs where they will blast punk and garage songs all night and everyone loves it.) and found a few interesting prospects. Set out on the train, found the place with only a little trouble, and then proceeded to bar hop for a couple of hours, drinking a vast number of kolches and having a decent time. Next weekend I think I'm spoken for, but it's good to know that such places exist.
Another odd thing: I just had my birthday but it seems that everyone thinks that I'm younger than I am. Is it because I don't smoke and haven't let myself go? Is it because I dress like a Williamsburg trustfunder? I can't figure it out.